When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they’ll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. OurPrivacy Noticeexplains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Young adults are being advised to check they were properly vaccinated against measles amid fears that thousands may have missed out as children.

The latest outbreaks have particularly hit young people in their late teens and early twenties - who were not injected when vaccination rates dropped in the early 2000s due to unfounded fears over the vaccine.

In 1998 Dr Andrew Wakefield wrote a research paper claiming a link between the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and autism and bowel disease.

The connection was later discredited but NHS figures suggest that 8,961 children in Lincolnshire born between April 2000 and March 2016 may not have had the first injection normally given within a month of their first birthday.

People are being urged to make sure they are vaccinated (Image: Mirror Screen Grab)

And as many as 17,627 children in the same age group may not have had the second dose by the time they turned five.

Read More

Related Articles

Measles is an unpleasant virus that can lead to potentially life-threatening complications like infections in the lungs or brain.

The virus begins with cold-like symptoms, followed by small greyish-white spots on the inside of the cheeks and then a red-brown blotchy skin rash.

Natalie Liddle, programme manager for infection prevention and control, said it is never too late to get vaccinated and urged young people in particular to check they are fully protected.

She said: "We know that uptake of the MMR vaccine fell heavily, particularly after the claim by Andrew Wakefield in 1998 that's been widely discredited now and in the early 2000s there was a fall in MMR coverage.

"As a consequence we are seeing measles cases in young adults who were children at the time.

"This is not just about young children now. For young people starting university - those children of the early 2000s - that's the particular group to which we are saying it's never too late to be vaccinated.

"If you didn't get the two does of MMR, you will not have the right uptake of the vaccine to prevent you getting measles.

"This is particularly important as people go off the university for the new term and if you are in any doubt you can contact your GP to find out if you had both doses."

She added: "There tends to be more complications if you get measles as an adult and people can end up in hospital.

"Measles is very contagious and in some cases it can lead to death."

People are being urged to make sure they're vaccinated (Image: PA)

Official NHS data shows only 64 per cent of children in Lincolnshire who were born between April 2000 and March 2001 had been given both MMR doses by their fifth birthday.

While vaccination rates in the area have improved somewhat - 86.6 per cent of those children born between April 2012 and March 2013 had been given both doses by their fifth birthday - it still leaves a group of potentially vulnerable unvaccinated children.

Among younger children, 91.2 per cent of those born between April 2015 and March 2016 had the first dose of the MMR by the time they were two.

Read More

Related Articles

The World Health Organisation target is for 95 per cent of children to have received the first dose by their second birthday.

There have been 12 reported cases of measles in Lincolnshire so far this year, compared to six reported during the same period last year.

The figures are based on NHS reports of the proportion of children in each area who had been given the first and/or second dose of MMR by their fifth birthday or just the first dose by their second birthday, depending on when they were born.

The overall numbers of unvaccinated children in an area may be lower as some children may have given the MMR vaccine later on, or may have moved out of the area.

Across England, potentially 864,636 children born between April 2000 and March 2016 have missed out on the first dose of the MMR jab, and 1.4m of those who have turned five have not been given the second dose.

The back of a patient with measles

In the 35 weeks ending September 2, 2,065 suspected cases of measles were reported to Public Health England across England and Wales.

The number of reports is much higher than over the same period in recent years. There were 1,076 cases reported in 2017, as well as 1,172 in 2016, 870 in 2015, and 1,354 in 2014.

However, numbers are lower than in previous outbreaks, with 2,965 cases reported in the first 35 weeks of 2012, and 5,488 cases in the same period in 2013.

Registered medical practitioners in England and Wales have a statutory duty to report suspected cases of certain infectious diseases.

Not all of the reported cases will turn out to be measles, but figures from PHE suggest approximately half of reports are confirmed.

Between January and August there have been 859 laboratory confirmed measles cases in England.

During the same period, 1,844 suspected cases were reported, suggesting 46 confirmed cases for every 100 reports.

Cases were recorded in most areas with London (300), the South-East (178), South-West (142), West Midlands (85) and Yorkshire and Humberside (83) seeing the highest numbers.

Measles is a highly infectious viral illness that can sometimes lead to serious complications and can be fatal in very rare cases.

Anyone who has not received two doses of MMR vaccine is at risk, but young people in environments with close mixing such as festivals are more at risk, as well as unvaccinated people travelling to Romania and Italy, where there are currently large outbreaks.

Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at PHE, said: “The measles outbreaks we are currently seeing in England are linked to ongoing large outbreaks in Europe.

“The majority of cases we are seeing are in teenagers and young adults who missed out on their MMR vaccine when they were children.

“Anyone who missed out on their MMR vaccine in the past or are unsure if they had two doses should contact their GP practice to catch-up.

“This serves as an important reminder for parents to take up the offer of MMR vaccination for their children at one year of age and as a pre-school booster at three years and four months of age.

“We’d also encourage people to ensure they are up to date with their MMR vaccine before travelling to countries with ongoing measles outbreaks.

“The UK recently achieved WHO measles elimination status and so the overall risk of measles to the UK population is low, however, we will continue to see cases in unimmunised individuals and limited onward spread can occur in communities with low MMR coverage and in age groups with very close mixing.”